Apple’s newest iterative replace for iPhones brings a welcome change for many who aren’t a fan of its Liquid Glass design overhaul. After consumer complaints that the Liquid Glass’ translucent design was exhausting to learn, Apple launched a compromise in iOS 26’s fourth beta that allowed for a extra frosted look in addition to a Scale back Transparency possibility buried within the Accessibility settings. Now, Apple is making this Liquid Glass toggle obtainable for all iPhone customers with iOS 26.1.
What’s Liquid Glass?
Apple debuted Liquid Glass at WWDC 2025 as its main visible redesign, which prompted a variety of comparisons to Home windows Vista. Every little thing from switches and sliders to sidebars and panels would imitate glass, in order that customers can see the underlying colours and content material. Whereas some iPhone customers preferred the fluidity and freshness, others stated the clear look usually created legibility points, prompted lag from the animations and led to eye pressure over prolonged intervals of time.
How one can scale back the Liquid Glass impact
To entry the brand new Liquid Glass toggle, ensure that your iPhone is up to date to iOS 26.1. You’ll be able to verify which model you are by navigating to Settings, then Normal, then Software program Replace. After you confirmed that you simply’re on the newest iOS, you may return into Settings, then Show & Brightness. From there, you may discover a new setting for Liquid Glass that permits you to select between “Clear” or “Tinted.” The Clear possibility is Apple’s authentic imaginative and prescient for Liquid Glass with see-through controls, whereas the Tinted possibility “will increase opacity and provides extra distinction.”
You’ll be able to preview the variations between the 2 decisions within the Liquid Glass setting earlier than you commit to 1. When in use, the Tinted possibility switches to the identical frosted look first seen by iOS beta testers, which provides a extra strong background to panels which were Liquid Glass-ified. It is vital to notice that there are solely two choices and Apple did not as an alternative go for a slider to regulate opacity. Nonetheless, Apple is leaning extra into customizability with its working methods, as indicated by its just lately launched Spatial Scenes function.
